Metal buttons through the ages

Buttons are a fascinating subject as most things are if you take the time to look a little deeper. There are a myriad of different types and materials used, and probably more than any other commonly found artefact, can tell you a lot about the status and life of the original owner.

As detectorists, we probably find more old metal buttons and fasteners than anything else. A lot of them will be just plain metal discs, so it’s always a pleasure to find one that’s a bit special. Some are obviously quite old. But just how old? Below is a rough guide to British metal buttons through the ages, which will help you put a date and period to your finds. For more detailed information and resources visit http://finds.org.uk/

Iron age buttons.

800 BC – 43 AD

Roman buttons

43 AD – 410 AD

Saxon & Viking buttons.

410 AD – 1066 AD

Medieval buttons

1153 AD – 1485 AD

Tudor buttons

1485 AD – 1603 AD

Stuart buttons

1603 AD – 1714 AD

Georgian buttons

1714 AD – 1837 AD

Victorian buttons

1837 AD – 1901 AD

Edwardian buttons

1901 AD – 1910 AD

Early modern buttons

1910 AD -1950 AD

Modern buttons

1950 AD – Present day

6 Responses to Metal buttons through the ages

Is this page unfinished or what happened?
All the categories of buttons have the same few images repeated on them and none of them link to anything.
It’s an entire page of incorrectly repeat “same” photo’s! It doesn’t serve a purpose! Sorry!